Greg Baeker

PhD.
Director, Cultural Development

t. +416.367.3535 / 228
e. gbaeker@millierdickinsonblais.com

Dr. Greg Baeker is one of Canada’s leading thinkers and practitioners in cultural development, with over 35 years working in senior leadership positions in the cultural sector in Canada. Greg is the founder of AuthentiCity, a nationally recognized leader in cultural planning and development. In 2010, AuthentiCity merged with Millier Dickinson Blais to form the Cultural Development Division.

Greg began his career in the museum field serving as Executive Director of the Ontario Museum Association. He then moved to government as Executive Coordinator of the Ontario Heritage Policy Review for the Government of Ontario, the first cross-government heritage policy in Canada. Greg then served as senior policy analyst for the Ontario Ministry of Culture. During his career he has contributed to the field through leadership on a range of boards and committees: Founding Board Member, Arts Consultants Canada; Member, Sectoral Commission on Culture, Communications and Information, Canadian Commission for UNESCO; Member, Advisory Committee on Cultural Diversity, Department of Canadian Heritage; Founding Board Member, Canadian Cultural Research Network; Chair, Canadian Museums Labour Force Study; Chair, Professional Advisory Committee, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Arts Administration Program; Board Chair, Children’s Museum of Toronto.

In 2005, Greg co-founded AuthentiCity with former Winnipeg mayor and current Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Glen Murray. AuthentiCity pioneered the introduction of new concepts and methodologies in cultural planning and cultural mapping that have been implemented in municipalities of all sizes and circumstances in Ontario and other parts of Canada. Since 2005, AuthentiCity has completed more than 30 cultural planning and cultural mapping projects; many are now recognized as best practices.

Greg is a sought-after speaker at conferences and publishes regularly for journals such as Municipal World. In 2011, Greg prepared Municipal Cultural Planning: A Toolkit for Ontario Municipalities for Municipal Cultural Planning Inc. and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. In 2010 Municipal World published Rediscovering the Wealth of Places: A Municipal Cultural Planning Handbook for Canadian Communities that is receiving acclaim across Canada and internationally.

Greg holds a Masters in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto and a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Waterloo. He lives in Toronto.